Bar Refaeli in Trouble With the Israel Defense Forces Over Draft Dodging

Hallie Stephens

omg! Celeb News•March 26, 2013

Bar Refaeli is the new face of an ad produced by Israeli Foreign Ministry to promote her home country. But the new pro-Israel ad has sparked a major controversy among the Israel Defense Forces.

The gorgeous Israeli model previously dodged her compulsory military draft, which is a requirement for all Israeli women over the age of 18. Worried that joining the military would interfere with her modeling career, the blond bombshell took advantage of a loophole in the system. Since married women are excused from the draft, Refaeli married a family friend in 2007 and quickly filed for divorce after receiving her exemption.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces addressed the casting of Refaeli in the commercial in a statement saying, "The choice of a representative who did not serve in the military as an official presenter on behalf of Israel, conveys the message that we ignore and forgive evasion of enlistment, and encourages identification, among youths of both sexes, with the success of those who did not enlist."

But the 27-year-old Sports Illustrated cover girl isn't losing any sleep over the controversy!